THe Equality Act 2010 - the majority in force 1 October 2010

This Act repeals the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 as well as several other major pieces of discrimination legislation. It harmonises discrimination law in England, Wales and Scotland (note, not Northern Ireland). The majority of the Act came into force on 1 October 2010.

The prohibition on age discrimination to the provision of goods and services came into force on 1 October 2012.

These Regulations made substantial amendments to Schedule 2 of the main Age Regulations clarifying and extending many of the exemptions relating to trustees and managers of the pension schemes. They were introduced following a further period of government consultation. Click here for these regulations.

These amending regulations made minor changes relating to the continuity of employment of government staff transferred between government departments and non-departmental public bodies; and extended the time for lodging a discrimination questionnaire and for lodging a tribunal complaint in circumstances where the statutory dispute resolution procedures apply.

EU Legislation

This is the EC Directive, commonly referred to as the Framework Directive, which requires member states to implement laws to combat various forms of discrimination including discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability and, of course, age.

Official Guidance

ACAS Guidance on "Working without the default retirement age"

ACAS has produced a 20 page guidance note on how employers should operate without a default retirement age. It is available from their website.